Anime is ridiculous. This skin looks silly, as do the legendary greatswords. I’ll probably stick with ascended greatsword for now, it doesn’t look too terrible. Most of the GS’s look awkward anyway with spatial surge, but I find Belinda’s sword looks extra weird.
I don’t see why people complain that mesmer is extremely hard to level. I started my mesmer without any previous knowledge of them, and played with GS/Staff pretty much until 80 with no issues. With illusions I found that there were few champs in my exploring that I COULDN’T solo. I hit 80 and wizened up and dropped ranged mesmer completely, and immediately found out how useful sw/sw sw/pistol or sw/sw sw/focus can be. I can only imagine mesmer being difficult to level up if you’re using the worst PVE weapon known to man, mesmer scepter.
I burst my opponents down to ~40-50% then hit shatter and immediately start summoning more phantasms.
NOTE: 99% of my 1000+ hours are PVE, so the following is in regards to my PVE experience only.
As I scrolled through the list of changes by profession (mesmer was conveniently at the end of the list) I was getting excited to see how many things they were going to be fixing in the upcoming patch. Instead I see they are going to buff the worst build style (condition), and buff a random utility. Seriously? I would be happy if they left everything the way it is in terms of buffed/nerf from previous patches, and just fixed the issues we already have, such as phantasms not spawning/attacking etcetera.
Add a simple option in settings or something, ‘lock bag dimensions’ and save it in some line of code somewhere, I’m sick of having to mess with the UI every time I open my bag. It’s impossible to keep a bag organized when my bag goes all Mad Hatter and plays games with me.
Here’s the best I advice I can think to give to you in regards to weapon choice, in the most condensed manner.
Main Hand
Sword: 5/5
best DPS, auto attack strips boons, blurred frenzy has unlimited uses (dmg, avoiding anything, acts as a third dodge, etc..), iLeap is decent enough – it creates a clone, can close a small gap, immobilize, and be used as a finisher
Greatsword: 4/5
Damage isn’t too bad, iZerker is still one of my favorite Phantasms even though I only use GS in dungeons where range is mandatory, little utility other than knockback, animation looks cool (that counts for something), lacks AOE
Scepter: 1/5
Speaking from a PvE standpoint, you should never touch the scepter. Torment and confusion are pointless in PvE, dmg is awful, can be good to spam clones, but it’s not worth sacrificing all your dmg
Staff: 3/5
Great utility, poor damage, and long cool downs. There are times I used the staff and believed it was a smart thing to do, then I realized the utility I gained wasn’t enough to chose using a staff. In solo PvE, giving yourself boons is pretty good, but we are mesmers not guardians. The staff is very defensive, and we should focus on being offensive in PvE. In dungeons I see mesmers who use staffs as amateurs who are afraid to use swords up close and personal, because at first I was afraid of using swords in dungeons. In group scenarios let other people provide the buffs (which last longer than 3s)
Off hand
Pistol: 4/5
Great single target phantasm damage, magic bullet is questionable and often avoided in dungeons for risk of aggroing other creatures
Focus: 5/5
Provides swiftness and can be used to pull enemies. I will just stop here because the things you can do with focus pull will make you a favorite in nearly any dungeon run. Traited for reflections temporal curtain is another mini feedback.
Sword: 5/5
Very strong block (a damaging block? love it. creates a clone? even better) which could also be used to stun foes, phantasmal swordsman provides excellent single target dmg while remaining a safe distance away, double swords look sweet
Torch: 1/5
Like the scepter, this is awful in PvE. In about the 1k hours I have on my mesmer I can tell you the only time I equip my torch is for some Arah death runs (trash skipping) for the mediocre 3s stealth. The phantasm is laughable.
In all honesty I played with a GS/Staff all the way until 80, then started doing dungeons and realized the error of my ways :P anyhow that’s my rant, if you have any questions add me ‘Matt Stacey.7415’
Oh yah. Here are two quick builds – traits only. Gear should be berserker.
Dungeon build (reflect and phantasm heavy):
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fhAQJAsPIR1QOdxhHRVXSFokdKB-e
Solo PvE:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fhAQJAsPGp0YQ1ZkehA2o0n8S5A-e
I generally don’t ever used mantras, and in the solo build I swap it out a lot, however in PvE content running around with 3 mantras charged for 12% dmg (don’t bother using them, and I only keep 3 not 4 because I can’t stand not having blink) extra is very nice
(edited by Matt Stacey.7415)
@Leon
I didn’t interpret that as “solo play or GTFO” so no worries lol, I’ve accepted GW2 is what it is, and while I appreciate the suggestion I’m going to focus on finding other players that share my viewpoint.
I misunderstood your post then. I’ve never really had an issue with representing. I don’t really have enough people yet for it to be an issue I suppose :P
Lots of things to address here. I think it’s best to do this in order
@Astral Projections: I don’t feel the same way about the guild system. I believe traditional guilds include people who work and play together towards collective goals. Whether they are playing alone or with guild-mates, they still contribute to some objective. I believe having a guild separately for PvE PvP WvW RP etc. is just excessive. I believe those are social groups, and nothing more (other than PvE). Call me old fashioned, but that’s the way I see it.
@Leon
I actually see it as the opposite. I would love to see guild castles and I believe building up a guild should feel like an investment, with a great pay-off. I do not like how casual guilds are, and do not like the idea of constantly switching back and forth between guilds to match an interest.
@Esplen
I agree with most of what you said. However, when did I say I forced anyone to play with me? If you’re referring to my RIFT example, that was our choice. We chose to play together because apparently 80% of the population of MMORPG’s prefer solo gameplay. I believe solo gameplay gets boring much quicker – just having someone to talk to while you grind makes it a lot more enjoyable.
@Sinifair
Seems like you have the same viewpoint as I do. I definitely prefer the older model that actually develops relationships, and I believe you captured my main point exactly – the guild system feels entirely too casual. Again, I see how ANet is trying to break the boundaries set by previous games, but I feel that regardless of the MMORPG’s I played (WOW, RIFT, Runes of Magic, etc) the guild system always had more of a community aspect to it. I remember Runes of Magic did actually have Guild vs Guild, kind of like a mini WvWvW with each guild having it’s own castle (an actual Guild Castle) with various objectives like capture the flag and hold key locations. I do find it very ironic that Guild Wars has no Guild vs Guild as well..
@Elothar
It’s simply a matter of opinion. Some feel that guilds should operate like online social groups, others – myself included – feel that guilds should operate like online communities. It could be old fashioned nostalgia of previous guild systems, but it definitely seems like the low requirement, casual approach to guild creation in GW2 produces more casual groups than online communities.
I’m assuming you didn’t read any of that
There are many things I love about Guild Wars 2 – let me get this out there first. There are, however, things that I very much dislike, namely the guild system. My first issue is that there are so few requirements that the game has an overabundance of guilds. I get that GW2 is attempting to break the mold by removing limitations we’ve seen as ‘normal’ in other MMORPG’s, but I feel this takes away from the Guild system. Let me be more clear.
- It costs a mere 1 silver (which means any level 2 person can start a guild in a matter of a minute)
- There is no charter requirement (a love it or hate it feature – for those who don’t know what it is, it was a requirement to have 5 or so people confirm their support of the guild before it could be created)
- You can join up to 5 guilds at one time.
I’ll look at these issues one at a time. First of all, the practically non-existent monetary requirement denies players the feeling of being able to build up to something. Handing guilds out means you don’t get the satisfaction of building up your wallet for a true purpose. Just as an example, when my buddy and I were playing RIFT, we played together at nearly all times. He was the tank and I was the healer – a classic duo. Now of course when we created our characters we were already thinking of how cool it would be to run our own guild. In RIFT it cost one platinum (equivalent to one gold in GW2) to start a guild, an amount we collectively worked towards to achieve. When we finally earned that one platinum we headed straight to the guild magistrate with that feeling of accomplishment I was referring to earlier. Not only does a 1 silver requirement remove the sense of accomplishment, it is the reason why guild recruitment sites have more guilds then there are players (seemingly).
Next, the charter requirement. Again, some people disliked this feature and wanted to be able to start their guild right away. There are others like me however, who saw that while it did add an extra step into the progress, it helped you to build a foundation. I currently have 5 people in my guild, and not due to lack of effort. I try advertising – not spamming – in map chat, I posted ads on 4 websites including the official guild recruitment forum, and I ask people that I explore/event with. Quite frustrating to be in a Very High population world and still have an issue like this.
The ability to be in up to 5 guilds. Five guilds. FIVE. GUILDS. Am I the only one who thought this was ludicrous? What happened to guild loyalty? What happened to either being in a guild, or leaving it?
Call this a rant or just complaints or whatever you want, but they are truly valid points. The three things I pointed out three things about the Guild Wars 2 guild system that make it harder to develop a strong, loyal guild.
Server: Northern Shiverpeaks
Hello everyone, my friend and I just started a guild [YDFC] and we are looking for players to join. We have no requirements, we are simply looking for people to play with. We currently have 3 people and will accept all interested. TeamSpeak is recommended but not necessary. If you’re sick of the large guilds where no one knows your name, we’d be perfect for you! Whether you’re brand new to MMO’s, or you’re a veteran, give us a shout.
Add me ingame (Matt Stacey.7415) or on Steam
(edited by Matt Stacey.7415)